


Undreamed-Of Gifts

by merlinus_ambrosius



Series: I'll Cover You [2]
Category: Star Wars: Jedi: Fallen Order (Video Game), The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Fluff, Surprises, The Force
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-19
Updated: 2020-12-19
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:21:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28176822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merlinus_ambrosius/pseuds/merlinus_ambrosius
Summary: Cara receives a gift she never dreamed of getting.
Relationships: Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV) & Din Djarin & Cara Dune, Cara Dune & Grogu | Baby Yoda, Cara Dune/The Mandalorian, Din Djarin/Cara Dune
Series: I'll Cover You [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2064174
Comments: 26
Kudos: 97





	Undreamed-Of Gifts

**Author's Note:**

> Looking through my WIP folder, I found this fic that I wrote last summer as a follow-up to my first story. At the time it seemed derivative, or thin, or something, so I just dropped it. But when I found it again, it made me smile. Everyone is together and the _Crest_ is home… 
> 
> Yeah. So I hope this turns out to be a Christmas/holiday gift of sorts for you all too!
> 
> ***
> 
> This takes place several months after _I Won't Leave You._  
>   
>   
> 

Cara had thought the kid’s magic healing thing had worked. The excruciating pain from the blaster wounds from the scrap with the pirates had simply faded away, leaving no scabs, no scars. It had been worse than any injury from the war, she knew—Din had held her, distraught, until the baby waddled close and put his hand on her—but even the clear memory of it seemed to have been washed away. She’d worried for Sprout more than herself afterwards, since he slept for longer than she remembered he had after he’d healed Din and Greef. But he seemed fine and ate a big breakfast when he woke. Now _that_ was normal.

But now, a few months later, the extreme fatigue she’d felt for an hour or so after the healing seemed to have returned in force. Or maybe it was age creeping up on her? 

Truth be told, it scared her. She had always been able to trust her body to do as she asked, and not act up in unexpected ways. She found herself snapping at Din, even when he was only asking her what was wrong. Strangely enough, it was Sprout who seemed to understand. He spent a lot of time snuggled up on her lap, sometimes just gazing up at her with his fathomless eyes. But had his use of the Force only given her another problem in the long run? 

Well, she wasn’t going to see a _doctor,_ for kriff’s sake. She’d figure out what was going on all by herself, thank you very much. 

And yet she struggled to keep up with Din in their training regimen. Body curls became all but impossible. She made up for it with chin-ups, but afterwards all she wanted to do was take a nap. Running? Maybe a sprint, but long treks with Din became a thing of the past. 

  


  


  


It was her turn to take Squirt into Cal and Merrin’s compound, and Cara was secretly glad. She didn’t really want girl talk, but she was glad to have a female friend like Merrin right now, since Din radiating masculine concern all hours of the day and night was driving her crazy. 

Cara took the tiny steps necessary for the baby to keep up with her and let her thoughts wander. Merrin had a pretty good store of hokey folk magic knowledge. Maybe she knew of some kind of backwoods wise woman remedy for premature old age, made of roots and mynock tails or something. 

Cal greeted them at the compound gate with a big smile, as usual, with BD-1 behind him, and Sprout rushed to him, babbling fit to burst. Cara was a little jealous (though not nearly as jealous as Din) that the two of them had cobbled together some form of communication and Cal could often understand him. Cal said apologetically that it was because the Force assisted him, but still. She wished the kid would talk to his parents. 

As Cal ushered Little Magic into the sunny space they used as a classroom, Merrin came around the corner and beckoned Cara toward the kitchen. “We’ll have tea,” she declared.

Cara would rather have had a splash of jet juice, but she accepted politely and sat down at the wooden table under a bunch of herbs hanging from the ceiling to dry. There were storage jars and pots jammed together on every available surface in this kitchen. Maybe Merrin’s tea would have something weird enough in it to cure her. 

Merrin poured the tea and passed Cara a plate of pastries. Cara wasn’t really hungry, but she took a small one and cautiously sipped the tea.

“How are you feeling?” Merrin asked kindly. 

Cara was a bit taken aback at her perceptiveness but said, frankly, “I’ve been tired.” 

“Ah,” Merrin said. “That’s normal, I think.” 

Cara put the teacup down. “It is?” 

“Oh yes,” Merrin said. “Fatigue is one of the most common symptoms.” 

“Symptoms?” Cara asked faintly. 

“Yes. Fatigue, nausea, soreness and swelling in the breasts, mood swings…”

…roaring in the ears and black spots before the eyes? 

Because that was what was happening right now. 

Cara closed her eyes. When the roaring faded, she opened them again, to find Merrin kneeling beside her, chafing her hand. “And sometimes dizziness.” 

“Kriff,” Cara said weakly. 

_“Kriff,”_ she said again, louder. “I can’t be. The medic—he was a specialist, one of the best in the army—said there was no hope for any of the droppers in my unit. Whatever gender. We had extensive tests. Sterile, he said. Unfixable.” 

Merrin was patting her hand now. “But didn’t I hear that your child healed you when you were on your way here?” 

“Yes, but… You mean he healed _that_ too? Dank farrik. Dank _farrik._ ”

“Did you never have your cycle after that?” 

“No,” Cara said. “But that was normal for me ever since that booby trap. Oh, kriff, it was only _hours_ after we’d fended off the pirates when I felt better and Mando and I were all over each other, so relieved… And then again the next… And after that I still never had…so I must have already been…? That was _over three months ago._ Kriff, Merrin.” Tears started in her eyes and she blinked them back, hard. 

“I’m so sorry to surprise you. I thought you knew,” Merrin said. “You’re showing, a little bit, if you know what to look for.” 

Cara had realized her clothes were tighter of course, but she’d thought that was only because she couldn’t keep up with Din anymore. 

Din…poor Din, with another mouth to feed. He’d feel he had all the responsibility. And poor Cara, who knew less than nothing about babies. Unless they were magical and green, with cute fuzzy ears. 

And yet—

If Sprout’s healing was that thorough, she was really going to have a child. Din’s child. Like finding someone who loved her so completely, it was yet another thing she’d never let herself dream of… 

Once he got over the shock, Din would be, well, awestruck and probably overwhelmed. But pleased, very pleased. Sprout—as for him, that knowing little squirt already seemed pretty happy about having a sibling, so…

Cara stood. “I—I have to go, Merrin. Thanks.” 

“The chemist in the village will have a test you can buy,” Merrin said, standing with her. “You’ll want to be sure before you tell your husband.” 

“Yes. Kriff, yes. Let me just go— Yes, okay. Thank you, Merrin.” 

Cara, thinking of continuing the legacy of both Alderaan and Mandalore and also how in the world she could earn some money, was halfway to the village before she realized she didn’t have any credits, so she had to go back to the _Crest._

Din was outside tinkering with the hydraulics of the ramp lift. “Did you get the kid to his lesson?” 

No, she threw him over a cliff. What kind of dumbass question was that? 

“Yes. I need to go into town. Do we have any credits?” 

Din straightened and turned to look at her. “I don’t know, I might have spent the last— Cara, you look terrible.” 

“Well, thanks, sweetie. You too.” 

“You’re pale. You really want to walk to the village? Why don’t you tell me what you want, and I’ll go—”

“No.” 

“Cara—”

“No. And if you’re going to hover like this, you’re not going to _live_ to see this baby born.” 

Din froze. 

Cara froze. 

“Baby?” Din said. His voice cracked. 

She moved closer, stealing a glance at him before she looked down and rubbed an imaginary smudge off one of her vambraces. His shoulders were so tense his pauldrons were practically up at his ears. “I think I’m pregnant,” she said in a low voice. 

Something like a strangled gasp came from under the helmet. “Cara, how?” 

A cheeky remark detailing the procedure was on the tip of her tongue, but her own recent shock made her compassionate. “When Sprout healed me…he must have healed _everything._ ” 

He gently grasped her upper arms and she could feel him trembling. “Are you sure?” 

“Yes. No. I was going to go buy a test, but… Din, it feels true. I think Squirt knows.” 

Din pulled back and held her at arm’s length and looked her over. 

She put a hand on her hip. “Well, intergalactic pregnancy expert?” 

“You look curvier,” he said. Oh, that was a good answer. He splayed his hand over her belly and somehow she knew there was a tiny heart beating under his glove. 

A moment went by, then another, while he looked down at his hand. Finally he looked up into her face. His voice was husky and soft when he said, “Do you still want to go get the test, or should we go inside and celebrate?”

A thrill went through her. He could still do that to her without even trying. 

“Are you sure you want to go in?” she asked. She imagined his eyes behind the helmet, dark and full of emotion. “Din, I know you didn’t ask for this. It’s…it’s a lot.” 

He tilted his head. “The best gifts I’ve ever gotten are ones I never dreamed of asking for.” 

That was true for her too, even if the gifts were complicated. 

She snaked her arms around his neck, for once not tired at all. “The test can wait. Let’s celebrate another gift we didn’t know we needed.” 

  


  


  



End file.
